Dolphins’ McDaniel addresses Tagovailoa’s status and Huntley plan. Sieler named MVP

Mike McDaniel said Tua Tagovailoa will be a limited participant in practice on Wednesday, and the team is preparing Tyler “Snoop” Huntley to start Sunday at the Jets in case Tagovailoa’s hip injury does not improve enough for him to be able to play effectively and enough for him to be cleared medically to play.

But McDaniel did not rule out Tagovailoa for the Jets game.

Huntley is expected to take the majority of team reps in Wednesday’s practice, as Tagovailoa waits to see whether a hip injury heals enough for him to play again this season.

McDaniel said “Today I’m approaching it as though I think Snoop is starting today... [We can] adjust as the week progresses, an easy adjustment we are definitely open minded to” if Tagovailoa’s injury hip heals.

[Update: Tagovailoa did not throw to receivers and barely did anything during the 20 minutes of practice open to media on Wednesday.]

Tagovailoa missed the Cleveland game with a hip injury that he sustained against Houston and was re-aggravated against San Francisco. McDaniel said Tagovailoa would have been at risk for a significant injury if he had played against Cleveland, but implied he wouldn’t necessarily be at a similar risk this weekend if the injury heals this week.

In other injury news, McDaniel remained unsure if left tackle Terron Armstead would be able to play Sunday. Armstead left Sunday’s game against Cleveland with a knee injury that has bothered him for several weeks and forced him to miss all of one game and parts of two others.

“He will do everything he can” to play, McDaniel said. “I’m optimistic in that way.”

In another development, Kansas City coach Andy Reid said quarterback Carson Wentz and several other backups will start Sunday’s game in Denver, a move designed to eliminate the risk of injury for Patrick Mahomes and other key starters.

The Chiefs already have clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed. But the Dolphins need to beat the Jets (4:25 p.m., Fox) and for the Chiefs to win in Denver (4:25 p.m., CBS) in order for Miami to make the playoffs. The Broncos would clinch the AFC’s final playoff berth by beating the Chiefs.

Award winners

One of the best waiver claims in modern Dolphins history is now the team’s MVP. The Dolphins named defensive lineman Zach Sieler the winner of the Dan Marino MVP award, in a vote of media that covers the team.

Sieler -- who was claimed off waivers from Baltimore in December 2019 -- has 49 tackles (including 12 for loss) and 8.5 sacks and has anchored a Dolphins defense that is third in the league in yards allowed and eighth in the league in points allowed per game.

“He’s a captain in more ways than one, a captain in how you conduct yourself,” McDaniel said. “You want an example of how to flourish in the National Football League, how to invest in your own game. He’s a prime example. It’s not just how he does stuff but how he performs and makes plays each and every week. It’s been since I’ve been here. He continues to find ways to elevate his game, which is why he is such an important part of what we do.”

Defensive tackle Calais Campbell was awarded the Don Shula Leadership Award, while linebacker Jaelan Phillips was named the team’s Ed Block Courage Award winner and left tackle Terron Armstead was honored with the Nat Moore Community Service Award.